Where traditional loud speakers create sound by converting electric signals into mechanical motion in order to vibrate a diaphragm or cone, surface acoustic transducers operate to produce sound without a cone. That is, a surface acoustic transducer operates by attachment to a surface, such as an existing panel or wall made of various materials, and directing vibrations directly onto the surface in order to create sound.
Surface acoustic transducers are generally known in the art. For instance, a surface acoustic transducer might be created by merely removing the enclosure and cone from a traditional loud speaker or speaker driver, and attaching it to an external vibrational surface in order to create sound. However, although surface transducers have been known for some time, few have ever achieved commercial success due to the technical limitations of these transducers, and the resulting poor quality of sound by merely attaching the transducers to various surfaces.
Specifically, one limitation of surface acoustic transducers is due to the lack of a mechanical excursion, which causes an absence of highs and lows in sound frequency. For example, rather than achieving a rich bass sound, regular surface acoustic transducers have limited frequency response resulting in a lower quality narrow band response as compared to traditional loudspeakers. Another issue with surface transducers is the effect of the attached bracket surface or external housing for mounting the surface transducers. That is, structurally, current surface mounted transducers do not account for movement or variation of the vibrational surface to which the surface transducer is attached. For example, a person leaning against a wall or surface to which the surface transducer is attached to would have a drastic impact on the sound or sound quality being reproduced due to potential deflection of the transducer onto adjacent surfaces behind the application.
Therefore, there is a need in the industry for an improved surface acoustic transducer that produces a better sound and overcomes the particular problems described above.